David Hg Smith | PubMed Health

PubMed2006

An effectiveness study comparing algorithm-based antihypertensive therapy with previous treatments using conventional and ambulatory blood pressure measurements.

Effectiveness trials in hypertension enable the efficacy and safety of new drugs to be compared with previous therapy. Since these open-label trials could inadvertently be influenced by observer bias, this study has used ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) to provide a rigorous blinded end point to validate the study conclusions. The study was performed in 675 patients with stage 1 or 2 hypertension despite receiving single-agent or fixed-dose combination therapy. After baseline ABPM, the previous treatment was replaced by telmisartan 40 mg daily; if control (office blood pressure <140/90 mm Hg) was not achieved in 2 weeks, the dose was increased to 80 mg, and if necessary, a fixed combination with hydrochlorothiazide 12.5 mg was used after a further 4 weeks. ABPM was repeated after 4 weeks on final therapy. Overall, 50% of patients finished on monotherapy and 50% on combination therapy. By office measurements, there was a decrease (mean +/- SEM) of 16.8+/-0.5/10.3+/-0.3 mm Hg (p<0.001) when telmisartan-based treatment replaced previous treatment; by ABPM, the decrease was 8.2+/-0.4/5.0+/-0.2 mm Hg (p<0.001). The decreases were significant for comparisons with each of the prior drug classes. A treatment algorithm based on the angiotensin receptor blocker, telmisartan, was confirmed by the blinded end point of ABPM as an efficacious alternative to other antihypertensive regimens in clinical practice.

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PubMed2005

Comparative antihypertensive efficacy of angiotensin receptor blocker-based treatment in African-American and white patients.

Blood pressure (BP) reductions with agents that block the renin-angiotensin system are regarded as less effective as monotherapy in African Americans than other ethnic groups. This practice-based study compares the efficacy of an angiotensin receptor blocker-based regimen in African-American and Caucasian patients. Included in the 10-week study were 173 African-American and 1296 Caucasian patients. Efficacy was based on differences in 24-hour ambulatory BP. After baseline ambulatory BP monitoring and office BPs were obtained, all patients were started or switched to the angiotensin receptor blocker telmisartan, 40-80 mg daily, plus hydrochlorothiazide 12.5 mg daily (if needed for office BP control: <140/90 mm Hg). More African Americans required the addition of a low-dose thiazide diuretic than Caucasians (47.3% vs. 34.9%; p=0.021). Once patients with white coat hypertension were excluded (i.e., those with baseline ambulatory BP monitoring <130/80 mm Hg), ambulatory BP monitoring changes were similar between groups. A greater proportion of African Americans than Caucasians without white coat hypertension also needed combination therapy (52.1% vs. 39.5%; p=0.04). While achievement of BP goal was similar between groups by office criterion (<140/90 mm Hg), differences were noted by ambulatory BP monitoring (<130/80 mm Hg) (48.0% in African American vs. 63.2% in Caucasians; p=0.01) despite the same BP reductions, reflecting higher baseline values in African Americans. We conclude that an angiotensin receptor blocker as part of a BP-lowering strategy is effective in previously untreated African-American patients, although a higher proportion will require the use of a diuretic compared with Caucasians.

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